Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior nightPolice: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
BONITA SPRINGS Police: 15-year-old injured after accidentally shot in the leg Lee County deputies say the teen was accidentally shot in the leg.
PUNTA GORDA Exclusive: Brother and best friend of accused pedophile priest speak out Riley’s brother reached out to WINK on Friday, saying people aren’t getting the full story.
IMMOKALEE Caught on video: Huge gator crosses Immokalee neighborhood Fridays in Florida are for gators
FORT MYERS FGCU softball pitcher making a name for herself One season in FGCU, freshman pitcher Allison Sparkman is already ruffling feathers in the circle.
Surrendering-pets trend at Gulf Coast Humane Society concerns An large amount of pets are being surrendered by their owners. About half of the dogs at the Gulf Coast Humane Society are surrender dogs.
Students benefitting from millions in sales tax dollars So far, the voter-approved half-cent sales tax has brought in $507 million for the Lee County School District.
PORT CHARLOTTE ‘Shady’: One woman feels misled after federal student loan consolidation It takes some people decades to pay off their student loans. One woman’s last payment was in sight until she took a gamble she said she was told to take.
FORT MYERS Homeless encampments inch closer to neighborhoods Law enforcement has swept multiple encampments, cleaning the trails of mess and muck left behind, and some of these encampments are right in our backyards.
BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE What changes if Big Cypress National Preserve becomes a Wilderness Area? America’s first nationally designated preserve is in Southwest Florida’s backyard, and it is celebrating its 50th anniversary.
Method to treat IBD being used for other health issues Trying to get treatments for the brain when fighting neurological diseases like epilepsy and ALS is a challenge.
FORT MYERS NTSB report reveals new details in helicopter crash after Hurricane Ian The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on a helicopter crash that occurred in Iona, Florida, shortly after Hurricane Ian.
NAPLES Memorial celebrates the life of John Passidomo Hundreds of friends and family gathered for a memorial at Baker Park in Naples.
‘Latinos in Action’ empowers all students to succeed WINK News talked with teachers who are a part of the program, helping kids reach their full potential.
Immokalee ‘The eyes always draw me in’; Immokalee portrait artist turns dark times into color One of Southwest Florida best portrait artist, Martha Maria Cantu, almost gave up art. Now she’s on the forefront of the city of Immokalee, to make her community filled with color.
Sex trafficking victim opens up about her experience. (Credit: Wikipedia) In the light of day, hidden in plain sight, is a dark illicit world. Invisible chains bind its victims. Sex trafficking victims are often lured into danger by cunning criminals. Many times it happens a lot closer to home than many think. A Southwest Florida survivor that we are calling Sara, walks us through the twisted grooming process. Sara was a college student living in a happy household. She never thought it would happen to her. We disguised her identity and voice protect her privacy in the video above. Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to get their victims to engage in commercial sex acts or forced labor. Sara said she never endured childhood trauma. “What I went through, was my trauma,” Sara said, “and I didn’t even know what was happening.” It started with a night of drinks with girlfriends at a local nightclub. Sara was 21 when she met a man she thought was friendly and seemed cool. They exchanged numbers and started dating. She said he would text her loving messages, “good morning” and “good night,” like clockwork, and was always around. Soon he started showing up at her workplace — a lot. While some may take that as a red flag, Sara thought it was endearing. Within a month they were moving in together. The relationship took a sharp turn when he told her about an online ad for a bikini modeling job. He pushed Sara to apply. “I was like no, you’re crazy, I’m not doing that,” Sara said, “and that’s when the roles changed.” “He’s like, ‘I’m giving you all this attention and you can’t do this for me just one time?” Sarah recalls. Sara said his manipulation escalated. Instead of the constant attention she was used to, he took it away and distanced himself from her, leading Sara to crave it. Sara gave in and called about the modeling gig. Her boyfriend dropped her off at a hotel for the interview, but they were not hiring models. Sara said she was sexually assaulted during the phony interview and her boyfriend’s reaction left her numb. “He was like, ‘Did you have sex with him?’ I remember just looking at him, shocked,” Sara recalls. “He said, ‘Well if you did, I’m not mad. It’s part of the job.’” He had been in on it all along — and made her think she was, too. Sara was in shock, unsure how it all happened. For nine months, she said he trafficked her for sex from Naples to Tampa, Orlando, Miami and back again. Night after night, he pretended she had all the power. “You should feel good about yourself,” Sara said he told her. “You’re the money-maker in this relationship.” But he was pulling all the strings. At this point, Sara had dropped out of school and quit a job that she loved. She told him she wanted to go home. That was when he started giving her ecstasy. After he also coerced her into committing crimes, they both ended up in jail on non-violent felony charges. “When I got arrested that was my freedom,” Sara said. “I was able to get away.” Since then, much brighter days have been on the horizon. When she met Linda Oberhaus, CEO of the Shelter for Abused Women and Children in Naples, Sara realized she was the unwitting victim of a trafficker and they are experts at manipulation. “They’ve provided food, clothing, shelter, [and they may have] gotten the victim addicted to drugs,” Oberhaus said, “because the trafficker has met so many of their needs that if their needs are not met, they’ll be prone to going back.” As for Sara, her trafficker ended up passing away, never to haunt her again. She is now in a happy, healthy relationship and has a great job. She said no one would ever guess this happened to her. But she knows others are not so lucky. “If the signs are there, if your story is anything like mine,” Sara said, “you might be in trouble.” _______ If you or someone you know may be a victim of sex trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline.